A few responses....

Posted on: August 1, 2016 at 18:57:41 CT

Yes, some players contribute to the team in small ways even if they aren't getting a lot of at bats and success on the field. And I'm sure you would agree that based even on the little we know now, several of the players that transferred would have done the exact opposite of what you imply, they would have been cancers in the dugout if they were not 100% committed to Mizzou and supportive of the coach. I would put Harvey, Nelson, Lowary, and now possibly Finicane into that group. I'd much rather they leave if they are not happy and clear the way for kids who want to be here. It seems clearly that the vast majority of players love EE and support him, but a handful had issues. The team chemistry would have been awful next year had they all stayed. If EE is retained, which I hope happens, it would have been a very difficult environment for the players that complained the most, and failed to get him fired. You know what they say about striking at the king - make sure you kill him.

And we will just have to disagree about Tori's senior season. I hope she contributes at Minnesota, she gave Mizzou two great seasons. I just see no reason to be optimistic that she will ever remotely approach the success she had here in 2014 and 2015. And she won't even get a chance to, IMO, with an AA workhorse like Groenewegen taking up almost all the innings, and a very good freshmen pitcher coming in who Minny is going to get a lot of innings out of, since their program will suffer a huge loss then Sara G. graduates.

Nelson? Who knows. I had high hopes for her too at the start of the season. She really struggled though as the competition got harder. Could she develop into a good D1 player? Possibly. But the school she ended up at tells you she will do it not against elite teams, but at a level that is probably more her speed.

Edited by bluetiger_ at 18:59:15 on 08/01/16